Brandon may be letting Rodriguez know that the door is open for a negotiated resignation. Rodriguez is not a fool, he's not going to give up 4 million (or 2.5 million) unless someone's approached him with another wonderful job -- not very likely at this time and place. On the other hand, no one likes to be fired.

That does sound a little more morbid than previous comments by him. He might be feeling the pressure to snatch Jim Harbaugh (if the opportunity really is there) now. DB is in a real tough position right now. It isn't an obvious firing and the future is so cloudy.

i wanted to paste it for those who only read the post and didnt click the detroit news article. but what it sounds like to me is the same thing he has said all along.

"The team has the opportunity to practice 15 days and prepare for a bowl game, which they've earned the right to," Brandon said. "I have so consistently stated what my process is, how I do this, and what is in the best interest of the program. That's what I do, and that's what I'm going to do. All of this desire for information sooner, all this speculation is fueling curiosity — it doesn't change how I'm doing my job.

"Back when we were 5-0, I said (this would be the evaluation process), along the way, I've said it, after exciting wins I've said it. This is how I'm going to do my job. I have not equivocated on that at all. Just because people out there are stirring the pot, that's not going to deter what I'm going to do."

Brandon has fielded calls from fans and former players, he has had in-person interaction, and he said he has received e-mail, although not as much as you might think.

"I get a lot of input from a lot of different places, in a lot of different ways," said Brandon, adding he listens to and processes all of the conversations.

Michigan is destined for a bowl game in either late December or Jan. 1 — the likely options are the Insight Bowl (Dec. 28), the Texas Bowl (Dec. 29) and the Gator Bowl (Jan. 1) — so Brandon's evaluation clearly will take place after that game.

But does waiting create an issue with recruiting and potential recruits who want to know whether Rodriguez will be coaching the Wolverines in 2011 or if there will be another head coach? The national signing period begins Feb. 2.

Brandon does not believe the delay in determining the direction of the program will affect recruiting.

"I have 27 sports, and I evaluate the performance at the end of the season," Brandon said. "It's the appropriate time to do it. It's when the coaching is over, and you can sit down and focus on what we've learned.

"Recruiting is a 12-month-a-year process. There will always be recruiting going on in one fashion or the other. It's a dynamic process. There's no good time, bad time, better time as it relates to how you manage the situation."

Will delaying the evaluation until after Jan. 1 affect Michigan's ability to bring in a top coach if the decision is made to release Rodriguez? There are various schools of thought. By waiting until after the bowl season, some coveted head coaches will be more available after they've coached their bowl.

The hottest name making the rounds regarding Michigan and a potential coaching opening is former U-M quarterback Jim Harbaugh, now the head coach at Stanford. Some projections have Stanford playing in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 3.

Regardless of the growing speculation, however, Brandon said he wants the Wolverines and Rodriguez to focus on their upcoming bowl game.

"They've got a game to play," Brandon said. "I understand there's an enormous distraction, and a lot of people are enjoying stirring the pot. They need to prepare for the game, and that's what I want them to do."

"The team has the opportunity to practice 15 days and prepare for a bowl game, wh i ch they've earned the right to," Br a ndonsaid. "I have so consistently stated what m y process is, how I do this, and what is in the best interest of the program. That's what I do, and that's what I'm going to do. All of this desire f or i nfo r mation soon e r, all this speculation is fueling cu r iosity — it doesn't change how I'm doing my job.

"Back when we we r e 5-0, I s a id (this would be the evaluatio n process), along the way, I've sai d it, after exciting wins I've said it. This is h ow I'm go i ng to do my job. I have not equivocated on that at all. Just because people out the re are stirring the pot, that's not going to deter what I'm going to do."

Brandon ha s fielded calls from fans and fo r mer players, he has had in-person interaction, and he said he has received e-mail, although not as much as you might think.

"I get a lot of input from a lot of different places, in a lot of different ways," said B r a ndon, adding he listens to and processes all of the conversations.

Michigan is destined for a bowl game in either late December or Jan. 1 — the likely options are the Insight Bowl (Dec. 28), the Texas Bowl (Dec. 29) and the Gator Bowl (Jan. 1) — so Brandon's eval u ation clearly will take place after that g ame.

But does waiting create an issue with recruiting and potential recruits w h o want to know whether Rodriguez will be coaching the Wolverines in 2011 or if there will be another head coach? The national signing period begins Feb. 2.

I think the program is in good hands with Rich Rodriguez and I honestly don't think there's a coach in the country that can do what he can offensively. With a medicore to decent defense I think he could take us to competing for a national championship again.At the same time, I think Harbaugh could take us to competing to national championships again as well. Not only that, he would unite the other whiny piss ass half of our fan base that hated Rich Rod before he even got to Ann Arbor. And while I'm not a subscriber to the "OMG HES NAT A MEESHEGANE MAN" mentality, I would like to see our fan base more united and not have half of it hoping for losses.If Rich Rod is fired after the bowl game I'd assume that's because we already have a commitment from Harbaugh. I think Rich Rod has one more year to put us in the top 10 at the end of the season, however the window for hiring Harbaugh probably won't last that long, so if Harbaugh was hired January 1, would I be upset? Absolutely. Would I still be optimistic about Michigan football and have Harbaugh's backing 100% Absolutely. Thoughts?

I don't think Impaler is being naive. I don't want to speak for him, but when I think "wait til after the bowl game to make a decision," I think of the specific action of stating whether RR will remain coach or DB will hire a new coach.

DB has obviously been evaluating RR every day he has been on the job. The "decision" here is the act of carrying out his constant evaluation.

I didn't mean to single out that one poster. I was kind of implying that we must all think that DB has been thinking about this for quite some time and probably has already made his decision. If not, he at least has a leaning. For that reason, I don't think it is too crazy to try to read into what David Brandon is saying.

This is my opinion and just my opinion so take it as pure speculation but that sounds to me as if he is setting the table for someone to be let go. Can we just hit the Staples easy button now and jump to next spring?

Brandon is a smart guy, but I wholely disagree with his assertion that the timing on any announcement either way does not matter to recruiting. Like the stock market, recruits and their families don't like uncertainty.

I read that oppositely.... that timing matters 12 months of the year, and regardless of when you hire/fire a coach, it's going to affect recruiting. (Still, I have to believe there's a timing that would minimize such an effect.)

By not outright supporting RichRod Brandon is obviously attempting to bring in Harbaugh. Brandon talks about how recruiting is a year round challenge while leaving his head coach and his recruits and prospective recruits hangin out to dry.

M f'ked up the Carr transition with an ugly public hiring process but might be throwing the baby out with the bathwater getting rid of RichRod.

By not outright supporting RichRod Brandon is obviously attempting to bring in Harbaugh.

I disagree with your analysis. Every day, DB is inundated with letters, calls, emails, guys in the parking lot, smoke signals, telegraphs and facsimiles from outraged fans who want RR fired three years ago. Were DB to extend RR's tenure in Ann Arbor with a game still to be played, DB is vulnerable to further attacks that he made an "uninformed" decision.

DB is waiting to see the entire season unfold (including the bowl game) to make his decision so that, whatever it is, there will be no question that he considered the entire body of available information. Nothing about these circumstances necessarily means DB is actively pursuing Harbaugh.

That's the striking thing to me. It was hardly three weeks ago that Brandon was making statements that seemed very "understanding" (for lack of a better word) of the roster experience situation, along with expressing what seemed to be doubts about the wisdom of firing coaches too readily. Either the final two games against Wisky and OSU turned his thinking around, or he's just reacting to the predictable swings in public mood.

Whatever the total number of posts about the 2007 hiring search was, I think we'll blow right past it this time. Information abhors a vacuum, and until there is concrete information it's going to be completely nuts on the rumormongering front.

Sheer speculation, this: I think DB talked briefly to JH, and the two agreed that they would talk again after Jan. 3, and left it at that. I think Brandon would be entirely comfortable with that scenario. And Harbaugh gets to focus on preparing for a BCS bowl.

Will this affect recruiting? Perhaps. And I think DB went out of his way to say that he can live with that. Our current commits will have plenty of time to de-commit if they don't like the results come early January.

Harbaugh is coming in town for the 85' team reunion. What if him and Brandon are meeting "in private" at that time. It's the perfect come in under cloak and darkness smokescreen scenario. It gives justification for Harbaugh to be here and it would provide a face to face discussion with the pimp hand himself.

This is how these OMG Rumors have made me feel as of late, though:

(yes, I also posted this on Brian's main page post in the comments section. Can't a man love playing with his otter?! Frankly, this makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, thank you very much)

that made what DB said appear to have a much harsher tone. If DB is going to fire a coach after two recruiting seasons I suspect very few coaches are going to want to come here. RR was left with little in the way of returning talent as attested to by our lack of RS seniors, seniors, and juniors that are starting.

With a total change in type of player needed for RR's offense he spent a lot of time the first year recruiting offense. He did land some highly regarded D recruits, Big Will, JT, and Vlad (pre-injury) who didn't or haven't panned out yet. Throw in Warren leaving early (mistake), T-Woolf going down before the season, Ezeh regressing, Martin not healthy since being chop blocked by Sparty, and we are where we are. The real question becomes what happens if RR is let go. How many players will leave as they no longer fit the scheme if it's Harbaugh?

Peronally, after Harbaugh threw the program under the bus concerning academics he can join ND and go to hell! It is unforgivable for a former player and graduate of the university to do what he did.

And Henning, having been caught with his pants down, said it was only his opinion, and wasn't any sort of reporting. "It wasn't based on any information," was Henning's embarassing quote. Henning didn't, and won't, apologize.

DB is in a tough position trying to keep both sides happy right now. If he gave RR a ringing endorsement today, it would have pissed off the fire RR crowd. Instead he is fague, giving both sides the impression they are being heard. In the end, he setting expectations for both sides that RR might stay another year or may be fired. DB is playing this well so far.

The thing that strikes me here is that I don't really see him trying to keep the pro-RR faction happy. He clearly states his displeasure with the season, and doesn't offer the qualifiers about youth and injuries that he did in earlier statements. This definitely isn't an endorsement. That doesn't necessarily mean RR will be fired, though - DB may yet go the Illinois route.

Who out of the pro-RR group is truly "happy" right now with the program? I'm pretty much pro-RR, but not exactly happy after seeing Michigan lose to Wisky and OSU by 50 combined points. While 7-5 may have been realistic expectations, you never want your head coach or AD flat out saying it like that, at least not at a program like Michigan. We can argue about progress, and I think it's there...but no one's truly going to be happy until RR hits the 10-win plateau and starts regularly beating good teams (and not just teams UM should beat)

We've had post after post here telling us to focus on the alleged progress the program has made, and how 7-5 isn't supposed to be such a bad record when you consider our youth and whatnot. Brandon could have used some of these talking points. He even did earlier in the season.

"Back when we were 5-0, I said (this would be the evaluation process), along the way, I've said it, after exciting wins I've said it. This is how I'm going to do my job. I have not equivocated on that at all. Just because people out there are stirring the pot, that's not going to deter what I'm going to do."

This sounds like he's already made his decision, but not the way the snippets the OP included implies. Which basically proves what we already knew. DB is a master at saying everything and nothing. He gives you words without giving you information with which to ascertain whether or not he is leaning towards keeping or firing RR.

then shouldn’t we blame the whole fraternity system? And if the whole fraternity system is guilty, then isn’t this an indictment of our educational institutions in general? I put it to you, Greg – isn’t this an indictment of our entire American society?

Well, you can do whatever you want to us, but we’re not going to sit here and listen to you badmouth the United States of America.

Horsecrap. If wanting RR and the players to focus on the bowl game is truly a priority for Brandon, the best thing possible for him to do is announce ASAP that RR is coming back for a fourth year.

I understand that Brandon has more things to consider than whether RR or the players are distracted, but implying that anybody in the current situation can avoid being distracted is disingenuous. I know it conflicts with action-hero movie myths, but in fact very few people work at optimum levels when a gun is pointed at their forehead.

Regardless, couple this with the interview he gave last week in which he pointedly praised Beilein several times while failing to mention RR in any way, and you have to work hard to not conclude he's already made the decision to make a change.

Beilein's job is safe, at least through 2011-12. Brandon has gone out of his way to praise the job he's done in the wake of the NCAA tourney drought, dealing with bad facilities, and so forth. He won't pull the plug.

plus 1 to you! i couldnt agree more. the more time that goes by just makes the situation worse. i work for a CEO myself and the pressure in the sales enviornment im in already weighs heavilly. and when the leader doesnt give me an endorsement even when times are a little rough i begin to worry. under these types of circumstances it has to be hard for coach road to stay focused. he needs to be secure while he is out recruiting and getting ready for the bowl game. i think there is something behind the scenes where brandon is saying its win or your done in the bowl. or he is awaiting word from another candidate. either way he is covering his own ass by not saying anything. i want coach road to succeed in the worst way and get through this. the guy hasnt even fielded his own senior class yet.

ok so after 3 years and the shit storm that RR has had to endure with all our young players etc..

What is to say if we Hire Harbaugh that it wont happen all over again? RR was a more successful coach, with a better track record. He has had a shitty hand ever since he got here, and still hasn't even had the chance to field a solid upper class with his players.

Brandon mentions everyone was not happy with the results of the season, including the coaches. Who's to say he hasn't determinded Gerg is canned. Time will tell

Not sure how he is rationalizing this. The longer it takes for Brandon to make his decision the worse it will be on recruiting for this and the next class. It leaves current recruits playing chicken with UM and whoever the coach is in January playing so much catch up that it becomes really hard to fill out the class.

The quicker his decision comes the better off UM will be, if it really goes another month before he decides it could be really hard to dig out of.

A diarist needs to come up with some empirical evidence that shows this line of thinking is true. Sometimes I think it is just a common held belief, but I'm not sure there is anything out there that supports it.

Take OSU for example. Didn't they fire John Cooper after their bowl game? It had such a huge negative impact that they won the BCS championship two years later.

I have no idea what the state of that OSU team was before or after the coaching change to be able to make an informed post on it I just know what ND went through last year.

Weis was fired within a week of the season, coaching search lasted another week, then 2 more weeks to hire and approve assistant coaches, that left 3 weeks total of recruiting before LOI day. And he would delay that by 3 weeks minimum by waiting to make his decision.

He could be dooming the next coach before he is even hired if the doesn't have a recruiting class to speak of.

IMHO, we can debate the merits of making an announcement now or later, but I honestly don't see how analyzing these statements can bear much fruit.

In summary, I read:

I've said this all season, I'm waiting until the season is over (which he has consistently stated). The team didn't perform as well as we'd hoped and certainly not to levels expected at Michigan. I don't think there is ever a good time to fire a coach because it means you have problems within your program.

So, basically, he took nothing and turned it into a few paragraphs of text. I don't think he'll tip his hand until he's made his final decision. But, I will admit that I love the general banter going on here. Most of it's insightful or, at the very least, amusing. Go Blue!

My read on this situation is that Harbaugh wants to talk after Stanford's bowl game. I don't think it makes any sense to wait until after the bowl to make a decision, unless there is a factor such as that. If Harbaugh announces he is leaving for Michigan, chances are Stanford does not let him coach the BCS bowl. This does not signal strong interest on Harbaugh's part.

At any rate, I think the signal is that Michigan does not currenlty have someone (i.e., Harbaugh) lined up. I think it is unlikely in the exteme that Michigan opens up a national search after December 28.

I'm not sure you can conclude anything about Harbaugh's interest from this statement. If anything, if JH weren't interested, I'd think Brandon would have made a more positive statement here about RR. If no one is lined up, why would Brandon be so non-committal about the coach he currently has?

What I think is likely is that Brandon and Harbaugh have already communicated and that Harbaugh has indicated he'll take the job - but he really wants to coach the Rose Bowl first.

Brandon hasn't already gave RR his commitment and just hasn't let us now? Harbaugh is not going to the Rose Bowl unless something strange happens this weekend. The Rose Bowl has to take TCU this year as it is their turn for the non AQ.

What is there to gain if Brandon has already let RR now he's staying? If he's already made that decision why would he not say it publicly to calm the uncertainty and speculation? If he's already made the decision to give RR one more year and has told him so, I don't think there is any benefit in withholding that information.

I know that isn't true because it would make no sense. The uncertainty of RR's job status only hurts us. If he were to publicly announce that RR is back, no questions asked, that would clear that up. Instead he's letting it drag out.

what he's going to do. None of us know what that is, but I would imagine he's either set, or a decision has been made pending the bowl game results. As in #1 happens, he stays, whatever #1 is. #2 happens and he's gone.

It can't be understated how much politics DB has to be involved in right now. He's going to make a decision, regardless of what he decides, that is going to make a lot of Michigan fans, alums and donors very upset. IMO, his only other goal right now other than make the correct choice, is to pacify as many people on the losing side as possible.

If he'd already decided to retain RR, when could he announce it to keep the old guard at least marginally accepting of it? After giving up over 60 points in our win against Illinois? After beating Purdue to guarantee our 7-win season? Getting drubbed by our last 2 opponents? At least if it's after the bowl game, even if unsuccessful, he can pass off the "looked at all the data points" argument.

That last point of yours shouldn't even be a consideration. If you have any backbone as AD, you don't worry about those things. If you think RR is the right guy for the job, you announce it, and if need be, give the whole "You know five percent of what I know" speech.

Now, I don't want to overblow this single line, but, if nothing else, this is an acknowledgment that there is an "issue" that needs to be addressed. At the very least, it seems to me as though Brandon is putting options on the table, rather than taking them off the table.

I am a big supporter of Dave Brandon and I think he will make an excellent AD. With that being said, I do not agree with the way he is handling this at all. There are too many lives (players, future players and coaches) for him to be dragging this out. I understand he wants to make an informed decision, but how much more will he learn from a 2nd tier bowl game? Rich Rod aside, I do not think it is fair to the players who have given their blood sweat and tears to this program for the last 3 years to have the leader crucified by the media and his job hanging in the balance. Place yourself in this situation on your job. How can you perform at you highest level not knowing if you will have a job in a month? I too am a RR supporter and hope he gets another year or two, however I do not believe that it will happen. Letting this linger on is a no-win for everyone. The respectable thing to do here is fire him now if you are going to fire him (Indiana, Miami etc..) Let him try to get another job and stop ruining his brand by having him plastered all over the media. Only time will tell if he is the right coach here, but that does not mean he will not excel somewhere else. Let the new recruits have a chance to decide if they indeed want to come here with a new coach and give the current players a chance to move on if need be. That is only fair. Remember playing footbal is secondary.. Teaching these young men to be mature adults while gaining a quaility education is first and foremost, I think RR has excelled in this matter. If you disagree ask some of his current players. I think this is the part of the argument that gets lost. After seeing the way this has unfolded, for the first time I am slightly ashamed to be a michigan man.. Just my opinion.

Brandon is absolutely making the right decision to wait until after the bowl game to make a decision. You can't fault a guy for taking his time in assessing the evidence and making an informed decision. If the decision was an easy one, then yes it would be wise to make the change right away. But the situation is not cut and dry and there are so many variables at play. This could go either way, easily; thus, Brandon can't appear to be rash about making his decision.

There are too many lives hanging in the balance waiting for this decision. What could he possibly learn in the next 30 days that he does not already know. They are in a bowl game and are 7-5.. This is where most sane people thought this team would finish. Three of our losses were to teams that won a share of the B10. I guess I am just an optimistic person,,